'Firefly' Reunion Nixed?: Netflix Head Shoots Down Revival Rumors

Particularly given the recent boom of cancelled TV series returning from the grave, from 'Arrested Development's Netflix revival to the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter movie, even 'Heroes' apparent revival at the hands of MSN, more and more fans have rallied to return their favorite series to live. Joss Whedon's cancelled cult FOX series 'Firefly' has long led the charge, but Netflix chief Ted Sarandos doesn't believe the fan-favorite series has a future. Find out why inside!

More and more it seems like every article stirring the pot of a 'Firefly' reunion offers very little in the way of substance, rather highlighting any offhand comment from cast or crew that amounts to little more than wishful thinking. Sure, 'Firefly' fans would love a reunion beyond Whedon's 2005 film sequel 'Serenity,' but Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos sees no potential to funding a 'Firefly' revival or any of the other fan-favorite series that have clamored for a reunion.

Speaking to The Huffington Post, Sarandos explained why 'Firefly' and others wouldn't work as well as 'Arrested Development's reunion:

Let me give you one broad statement about these recovery shows. In almost every case the cult around the show gets more intense and smaller as time goes by. Arrested Development was the rarest of birds in that the audience of the show grew larger than the original broadcast audience because people came to discover it years after it was cancelled.

The Firefly fan is still the Firefly fan from when it was on TV and there’s fewer of them and they’re more passionate every year. Whereas with Arrested Development we’re going to be serving a multiple of the original audience. Any of the other shows we could bring back would be a fraction of the original audience."

Surely the self-titled "Browncoat" 'Firefly' fans would argue against the point, but the fact remains that a number of other factors stand in the way of a true 'Firefly reunion getting off the ground. It certainly speaks to Netflix's mindset toward future original content, looking to differentiate beyond reviving cancelled comedies.

What say you? Do you think Sarandos has a point about the potential profit from a 'Firefly' reunion, or other past series? What shows would you want to see revived under the Netflix model?